Ooni Koda
  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Newsfeed
  4. /
  5. Kingfisher, the group of which Brico Dépôt Romania...

Kingfisher, the group of which Brico Dépôt Romania is part, and Endava announce the opening of a new technology hub in Cluj-Napoca and plans to hire 100 engineers

February 26, 2024

Kingfisher, the international home improvement company and owner of well-known brands such as B&Q, Screwfix, Castorama, and Brico Dépôt, is honoured to announce the launch of its new technological hub in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in partnership with Endava, a leading technology services company headquartered in London, which combines world-class engineering, industry expertise and a people-centric mindset. The hub will provide 100 job openings in the next year for various positions.

The Cluj-Napoca hub highlights Kingfisher’s commitment to developing in-house engineering talent across the UK, France, Poland, and now Romania. With this strategic decision, the company aims to increase its innovation and agility and provide the greatest experiences possible for its global customers.

Throughout 2024, Kingfisher intends to hire 100 engineers to cover a large variety of positions within the Cluj hub, such as Cloud Platform, Software Engineering, Quality Engineering, and Data Engineering. The company’s goal is to hire quarterly approximately 25 employees, focusing on integrating these teams into the larger Kingfisher engineering community.

Thierry Garnier, Chief Executive Officer Kingfisher:

„Technology has long been important in retail, but today it’s right at the top of the leadership agenda. I don’t think I ever go a day at Kingfisher without discussing technology in some form. It doesn’t just underpin growth in ecommerce, but every aspect of retail, from logistics and pricing to AI solutions and retail media. That’s why we want Kingfisher to be a magnet for top talent in technology and data science.”

Adela Smeu, Chief Executive Officer Brico Depot Romania:

„The choice of Romania was not accidental. The group we belong, recognizes the high experience and quality of services in the field of technology on Romanian market. We are proud of this choice and we are happy to be part of a group that constantly and decisively invests in technology and innovation.”

Paul Maguire, Head of Retail Delivery at Endava:

„Today, every business is a technology business, and nowhere more so than in retail. We are honoured to lend our expertise in technology, and our long history of working with tech talent in Romania, to drive an even better experience for Kingfisher’s customers, whilst continuing to improve value.”

Due to of its developing IT field in Cluj-Napoca, Romania is frequently referred to as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe, making the country an ideal environment for technological innovation. Kingfisher chose Cluj-Napoca as its next technological hub due to its strategic location, the large talent pool available, and the presence of multinational technology and service organisations.

Kingfisher and Endava will work together closely and co-brand to ensure the smooth growth and integration of the Cluj hub. This partnership highlights the shared goal for technological innovation and excellence.

This initiative is part of Kingfisher’s ongoing strategy to expand its in-house data science and software engineering capabilities, following the successful opening of a similar hub in Krakow, Poland. This technology site was launched in December 2022 and has approximately 80 employees.

The information provided by KomuniK

Read in full - click here
Film review – Gazing into the Past: Il Cinema Ritrovato & TIFF

June is the richest month. The most awaited two weeks in my annual festival pilgrimage. The route starts with Romania’s Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF), followed by Italy’s (and the world’s) most comprehensive festival for restored and archival film: Il Cinema Ritrovato. To shake up the traditional article on the two, I’ll start with the […]

Different Beauty: Portraits from Donbas in David Těšínský’s Bucharest exhibition

Different Beauty, a recently opened exhibition of works by Czech photographer David Těšínský, offers a glimpse into everyday life in the war-torn region of Donbas in 2017. The photos were taken within the span of only a few days, as Těšínský traveled to eastern Ukraine to document the lives of women impacted by war. In […]

Different Beauty: Images from Donbas in David Těšínský’s Bucharest exhibition

Different Beauty, a recently opened exhibition of works by Czech photographer David Těšínský, offers a glimpse into everyday life in the war-torn region of Donbas in 2017. The photos were taken within the span of only a few days, as Těšínský traveled to eastern Ukraine to document the lives of women impacted by war. In […]

Most Romanians do not trust AI without human intervention, survey shows

Roughly 70% of Romanians are “very” or “moderately” concerned about how AI accesses and uses their data, according to the latest survey conducted by RoCoach in partnership with Novel Research between May and June 2025.  Distrust in automated decision-making and the demand for regulation are becoming more pronounced, as Romania rolls out major digitalization projects […]

Armenian Street Festival to take place at Bucharest’s Botanical Garden in August

The Armenian Street Festival returns for a 9th edition between August 1 and 3, 2025, in the “Dimitrie Brândză” Botanical Garden in Bucharest. The festival brings into focus the living heritage of the Armenian community in Romania and the diaspora. According to the organizers, this year’s edition aims to strengthen the Bucharest–Chișinău–Yerevan cultural axis, articulated […]

M&A market in Romania registered transactions worth EUR 2.7 bln in first half of 2025

The Romanian mergers and acquisitions market registered a total of 122 announced transactions in the first half of 2025, with a value exceeding EUR 2.7 billion, marking a slight increase of 6% in volume and 4% in value compared to the same period last year, according to an analysis by George Ureche, partner at PwC Romania. […]